Railway-car cover



(No Model.)

G. P. GOOD & R. B. COLLIER.

RAILWAY CAR COVER.

Patented Mar. 16, 1886.

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GEORGE P. GOOD AND ROBERT B. COLLIER, OF COLUMBUS, OHIO.

RAI LWAY-CAR COVER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO. 337,831, dated March 16, 1886.

Application filed January 2, 1886. Serial No. 187,503. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, GEORGE P. Goon and ROBERT B. COLLIER, citizens of the United States, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Railway-Oar Covers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

Our invention relates to railway-car covers, and especially to that class which are used on open or freight cars employed to convey or transport iron, coal, lumber, and merchandise of a like character.

The objects of the improvement are to provide a cover which will protect the contents of the car from the damaging influences of the weather, and also to prevent theft, which often occurs when the cars are left uncovered.

A further object is to provide a cover which will be simple andpraoticable in construction, strong and durable, readily operated, and exceedingly cheap to manufacture.

With these ends in View the said invention consists in the improved construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a car of the character mentioned, showing our improved cover applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional View through the center of the cover, showing the manner in which the sections overlap and slide one within the other. Fig. 3 is a transverse section, showing the grooves or ways in which the covers are adapted to slide, and Fig. 4 represents a modification of the ways in which the covers slide. Fig. 5 represents a modification of the interlocking joint or angle lip.

Referring to the drawings, in which like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures thereof, A designates an open or freight car in connection with which our improved cover is employed.

B designates our improved cover,composed of the roof-sections B B B which are made of transversely-corrugated or plate sheet metal, and are higher at their centers than at their sides, or, in other words, are substantially oval shape in crosssection. Each of these or bars in place upon the car and prevent any movement thereof. Any number of these lugs may be used, and they are generally spaced apart, as shown. Along the inner side faces of said bars or strips 0 O are provided longitudinal parallel grooves or ways D D D arranged one above the other, and of any suitable form, but preferably constructed as shown in Fig. 8, as we have found by actual practice that this particular shape for the grooves or ways is very efficient, as will be presently explained. These strips or bars 0 0 may be made of a single piece of metal or of wood, or in sections coupled or connected rigidly together by any suitable fastening, as at d, Fig. 1.

The roof-sections are each provided with a handle, E, for convenience in shifting them in loading or unloading the car.

In place of the strips or bars 0 0' having the guide grooves or ways for the sliding roofsections, we propose to use a series of angleirons or brackets, M, Fig. 4, bent to form ways, and which will be secured to the sides of the car at the top. The side edges of the cover will be suitably bent to engage under the brackets, and yet allow the proper sliding movement. Of course there will be as many brackets employed in a vertical series as there are roof-sections, since each section will slide in its own series of brackets. When brackets are employed, they should be secured to the sides of the car at intervals apart, both in a vertical and horizontal line. One cover-section will slide in the top series of brackets, the next section will work in the second series of brackets over the first section, and so on, and thus the working of the sections can be performed without having them interfere with each other.

The shape of the angle-irons may be changed at will and effect the same end, and whenever the construction of the angle-irons is changed the peculiar bend on the side edges of the roof or cover sections should be made to correspond thereto.

These brackets will be much cheaper to construct, and answer all the purposes equally as well as the strips or bars 0 C.

The many advantages of this cover will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art.

It can be readily and easily applied to all open cars used for the purposes mentioned having inclosing sides.

The cars can be readily and conveniently loaded and unloaded, as by merely shifting the roof-sections access is obtained to every part of the car.

Oars provided with our cover can be run into stock-houses, sidings at mills, coal-yards, buildings, or inclosures of any kind, without the necessity of moving cars in or out to open or close the same, as is done when the old form of lid or drop-cover is used, and the cars are required to load or unload in places where the cars must run within a foot or two of the building, for in such a case the width of these old drop-covers makes it impossible to unload or load without moving the car back, lowering the cover, and then proceeding forward to unload or load the cars. By our improvement all this time and labor is saved, as we are enabled to run our cars into places of the character mentioned, and by simply moving or shifting the sliding covers or sections to load or unload the cars with case.

Where these cars are employed to convey merchandise to the lumber districts, they may be readily and advantageously utilized by loading them with lumber for the return-trip.

When the covers are locked in position on the cars, the contents are protected from damage by the conditions of the weather, and also from theft.

This cover is very simple, strong, and durable, can be applied without detriment, change, or loss to any open car having sides with ends either stationary or movable, can be supplied at a very small cost, and by its use much time, labor, and money will be saved.

' We would have it understood that we do not confine ourselves to the particular construction of cover herein shown and described, as many modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit or scope of our invention.

The peculiar form of grooves or ways in the strips 0 O, in which the roof-sections are adapted to slide, are constructed with the bottom wall of the grooves inclined, (see Fig. 3,) so as to allow water from the roof-sections to run off and not become frozen in the grooves or ways, which would in such cases prevent the roof-sections from being shifted. The bracketslVI may also be similarly constructed for the same purpose.

For cars having permanent or stationary ends it is designed to continue the ends up to meet the edges of the end cover or roof sections, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The top of the ends will be bound by a strap or band of metal, J, to project inwardly sufiicient to lap over the end of the cover or roof section adjacent to the ends of the car, and thus act as a guard to prevent the sections from being wedged open. This would also apply to cars having movable ends or drop-doors, the

cover-sections being secured to the latter by a staple and padlock at both ends of car.

It will be observed that the cover or roof sections slide one within the other, or, more properly speaking, telescope. these sections from separating or being pulled apart, we propose to employ an interlocking joint or angle-iron lip in the meeting ends of the sections, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5 This joint or lip, while it will allow the shifting of the sections, will also prevent their extension when the bent edge or lip h of one roof-section engages with the corresponding lip h of the adjacent section.

Heretofore it has been proposed to provide open cars with sliding cover sections or leaves To prevent to run at their side edges on rollers fitted to the sides of the car; but this construction has been found to be too expensive for any practicable purpose, and hence we disclaim the same.

Having thus fully described our invention,

we claim- 1. The strips, bars, or brackets secured to opposite sides of the car on the outside, and provided with two or more grooves or ways, in combination with the roof-sections having their edges received in and sliding in the grooves or ways, and interlocking devices to cause one section to engage with the other when extended to close the roof, as set forth.

2. A cover for open or freight cars made in sections, said sections being adapted to slide within each other, and having the end of one section interlocking with the end of the adjacent section, as shown and set forth.

3. The strips, bars, or brackets secured to opposite sides of the car and provided with a series of grooves or ways, the bottom wall of which is inclined for the purpose explained, in combination with the roof-sections having their side edges received and sliding in the grooves or ways, as set forth.

4. The strips, bars, or brackets secured to opposite sides of the car, which strips or brackets are provided with two or more guides, grooves, or ways, arranged one above the other, in combination with the roof-sections, oval in cross-section, having their side edges on a horizontal plane and received in the grooves or ways, as set forth. 7

5. The sliding roof-sections, in combination with the car having their upper ends projected over, so as to prevent the ends of the roofsections from being wedged upward, as set forth.

d/ 6. The strips, bars, or brackets secured to In testimony that we claim the foregoing as the ear and provided with a set of ways arour own we have hereto affixed our signatures r0 ranged one above the other, in combination in presence of two witnesses.

with the roof-sections having their edges re- GEORGE I. GOOD. 5 ceived and sliding in the ways, and an inter- ROBERT B. COLLIER.

locking lip provided on one of the sections, to \Vitnesses: engage with the adjacent section when the H. F. GUERIN, parts are extended, for the purpose set forth. J NO. E. SATER. 

